Atlantic City casino revenue falls 12.5 percent from a year ago

Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerCasinos located at the north end of the Atlantic City Boardwalk: Trump Taj Mahal, Showboat and the unfinished Revel project in this July 2010 photo.

ATLANTIC CITY — Atlantic City's 11 casinos had little to be thankful for in November as their monthly revenue fell 12.5 percent from a year ago.

The casinos won $261.7 million in November. Their $182.2 million slot winnings were down 11.9 percent, while table games revenue of $79.5 million were down 14 percent from a year ago.

"So many of the other local economic indicators continue to show strength during these difficult economic times," said Linda Kassekert, chairwoman of the state Casino Control Commission, which released the figures today. "But the combined impact of the economy and increased competition continue to depress gaming revenues."

Resorts Atlantic City, which was sold Monday by lenders who had owned it for a year, had the worst month, with revenues down 28.6 percent, showing how close the casino had come to closing.

On the plus side, the Tropicana Casino and Resort posted an 11.2 percent gain. Tax documents filed with the commission show much of the increase was due to an exceptionally lucky streak at blackjack for the casino in November.

In November 2009, blackjack players at the Trop bought $15.1 million worth of chips and lost about $2.1 million of them to the casino, for a casino hold of 13.9 percent.

This November, blackjack players bought $20.2 million in chips at the Tropicana and lost $6.4 million of them, for a casino hold of 31.8 percent.

The only other casino to post an increase was Trump Marina Hotel Casino, up 1.7 percent.

For the first 11 months of the year, Atlantic City casinos have won $3.3 billion, down 9.3 percent from the same period last year.

Atlantic City is wrapping up its fourth straight year of declining casino revenues that began when the first slots parlors opened in the Philadelphia suburbs. The rapid rise in casino competition in neighboring Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware coincided with the nationwide recession — a one-two punch that has proven devastating for the nation's second-largest gambling market.

It was a particularly bad month for the four Atlantic City casinos owned by Caesars Entertainment Corp. Caesars Atlantic City was down 26.1 percent, Harrah's Resort Atlantic City was down 20.5 percent, the Showboat Casino Hotel was down 17.7 percent and Bally's Atlantic City was down 16.5 percent.

Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino was down 14.3 percent, the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort was down 11.8 percent, the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa was down 6.4 percent and the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort was down 5.5 percent.
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